With age comes wisdom, and often our priorities shift:  We learn to enjoy life a bit more and  appreciate the smaller moments.  Working to get the teeny tiny waistline of one of the Kardashian sisters simply doesn't have the same allure.  We often associate a fat-free midsection with the superficial vanity of youth - but having a strong midsection isn't just about showing off your flat-bellied results.  And for many of us, with the holidays right around the corner, a tighter tummy is the last thing on our minds.

The truth is that working your core is about stability, balance, protecting your back...and much, much more.  So abdominal exercises are vital to our health year-round - especially as we age.  In fact, they might just be more important now than ever before.  And the firmer, whittled waistline that comes along with those efforts?  Consider it a holiday bonus.

Follow these five tummy-trimming tips to eliminate bellyfat before the holidays:

1) Stop the "Spread".  Many of my friends over 40 tell me that they're no longer worried about carving sculpted abs - they just want to stop the "spread," or widening of the midsection, that seems to come with age.  But this spread isn't necessarily inevitable; you can halt it with proper diet, cardio, strength training, and, of course, core exercising.  The key is to incorporate moves that tighten your obliques (the muscles on the side of your abs, where the "muffin top" can start to appear) into your workouts.

Give this move a try:    

I call this workout clip the Muffin-Top Meltdown.  With this move, your arms provide both the resistance and stability needed to activate your obliques, helping you to recreate that hourglass figure. 

2) Have some fun.  Just about everything we enjoy in life that is remotely physical requires abdominal function - from skiing to walking on the beach, dancing to sex.  (Yep, you read that correctly...have I got your attention now?)  Think about the rotation you do with every golf swing, or the involvement of your abs when you go swimming.  With the proper form and focus, almost any movement can help strengthen our cores while protecting our backs - and hopefully we're having a good time in the process.

3) Give Gravity a Run For Its Money.  We all know some seniors who seem to "stoop over" more and more every year.  (And most of us have had the thought, "Not me!  Never me!")  This is, of course, due to poor posture, but many of us don't associate standing up straight with having a strong core.  But when it comes to holding our bodies upright, our abs are all we've got.

Try this now:

Imagine that you're a puppet, someone's got a string attached to the top of your head.  Now let that string pull you up about a quarter of an inch, starting with the crown of your head and traveling all the way down your spine.  Take some good, deep breaths, and notice what's happening to your body.  Not only does this exercise immediately make you look thinner, but when practiced regularly, it trains you to engage your core not just when exercising, but in everyday life - and it's the foundation of strong, upright posture you'll keep for life.

4) Attack from all angles.  Your abdominals are a group of muscles, just like your biceps, pectorals, and calves.  And like those muscles,   they can be strengthened, shaped, defined.   I created my  Tummy Trimmer DVD to to banish the bulge and help you sculpt a lean and sculpted waistline with five different 10-minute workouts:

1. Standing Abs - Burn mega calories with these fun dance-style moves.  That's right...you don't always need to get on the floor to banish bellyfat!

2.  Core  Abs - Sculpt your waist and increase your func tional core strength by engaging the deepest, almost forgotten abdominal muscles....Hmmm, long time no "feel"! 

3.  Boot Camp Abs - Not your Mama's crunches, this state of the art approach will get you results with just 10 minutes a day.

4.  Stability Ball Abs - Improve your balance and agility while you sculpt.  Perfect for keeping you "on the ball" in life.

5.  Pilates Mat Abs - Designed to perfect your posture and trim inches while you lengthen and strengthen your torso.

5) Put a twist on cardio.  There's another key ingredient to whittling your waistline that has nothing to do with working your abs (okay, almost nothing):  Cardio.  Perhaps you've heard me say it before:  No matter how many crunches you do and how strong your core is, if you don't burn off that top layer of fat, you'll never get to see the results of all your hard work.  That's why a lack of cardio can also contribute to that "boxy" effect we're all trying to avoid.  Develop a well-rounded cardio routine, Power Walking, Step Workouts or Dance Aerobics are no-nonsense solutions that you can work into your schedule.  My DVD's are specifically designed to be done as 10-20 minute workouts, or a complete 40-60 minute fat-burning extravaganza.

Click Here for My Collection of Cardio DVD's